It’s Time To Stop Live Streaming Church
Streaming removes us from the sacred and has become an excuse to avoid fellowship, while presenting numerous safety and privacy concerns.Streaming removes us from the sacred and has become an excuse to avoid fellowship, while presenting numerous safety and privacy concerns.'Evil feels unleashed': Gut-wrenching reactions to horrific Michigan church shooting
At least one person has died and 9 others were injured in a mass shooting at a church in Michigan on Sunday morning, according to local authorities.
The fatal shooting occurred at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, a suburb of Flint, Michigan.
'THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!'
The Grand Blanc Police Department said in a statement, "[There] has been an active shooter at the church of Latter Day Saints on McCandlish Rd. There are multiple victims and the shooter is down."
The police department noted that the church is "actively on fire."
The Grand Blanc Police Department stressed, "There is NO threat to the public at this time."
Citing Grand Blanc Township Police Chief William Renye, CNN reported: "A gunman drove his car into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and opened fire on congregants during a large service."
USA Today reported, "He then exited the vehicle and fired 'several rounds' at people inside the church, Renye said at an afternoon news conference."
Renye added that responding officers “engaged in gunfire” with the shooting suspect and said, "That suspect is no longer with us."
Citing the police chief, USA Today reported that the suspect "is believed to have deliberately set the fire" at the Michigan church.
Multiple reports stated that nine victims suffered gunshot wounds and were rushed to local hospitals.
According to USA Today, the church was "engulfed in flames" and police expect that there will be more victims.
Paul Kirby, an alleged victim of the church shooting, told the New York Times that it was the "scaredest I’ve ever been," noting that it sounded like an explosion when the vehicle collided with the place of worship.
"When he went outside to help, he said he saw a man about 10 to 20 yards away from him getting out of his truck and starting to fire at people," the New York Times reported. "He said a bullet went through the glass door beside him and a piece of shrapnel hit his leg. He then ran inside, gathered his family and others, and ran out the back of the church.
Blaze Media co-founder Glenn Beck stated on the church shooting in Michigan: "Evil feels unleashed, with bloodshed now a daily sorrow. We mourn with all who mourn. Yet I hold fast: evil never wins. Christ will bring ultimate justice and reign in peace. May He find us worthy. May He save the Republic."
President Donald Trump reacted by saying, "I have been briefed on the horrendous shooting that took place at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Grand Blanc, Michigan. ... The Trump Administration will keep the Public posted, as we always do. In the meantime, PRAY for the victims, and their families. THIS EPIDEMIC OF VIOLENCE IN OUR COUNTRY MUST END, IMMEDIATELY!"
Vice President JD Vance stated on the X social media platform, "Just an awful situation in Michigan. FBI is on the scene and the entire administration is monitoring things. Say a prayer for the victims and first responders."
"We are heartbroken,” Grand Blanc Township Supervisor Scott Bennett said at a Sunday news conference. "This kind of violence doesn't happen in our community, and we are heartbroken that it came to Grand Blanc Township. And we're going to do everything we can to support the families, the victims, and our community getting through this situation."
The investigation included members of the local police, Michigan State Police, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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Liberal media bends over backward to avoid 'misgendering' gunman who murdered kids in church
Trans-identifying degenerates have carried out or attempted to carry out a number of mass shootings in recent years.
For instance, in March 2023, a trans-identifying woman stormed into a Presbyterian elementary school in Nashville and murdered three 9-year-old children — Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs — and three adults — teacher Cynthia Peak, custodian Mike Hill, and head of school Katherine Koonce.
'She identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.'
In April 2024, a male-identifying woman planned to shoot up an elementary school and a high school in Maryland but was thankfully stopped in time by police, then later convicted.
The liberal media has consistently used used the preferred pronouns of these and other murderous trans-identifying criminals in an apparent effort to coddle the offenders and to placate LGBT activists.
A trans-identifying man formerly known as Robert Westman shot up a Catholic church full of children in Minneapolis on Wednesday, injuring 17 and killing two kids, ages 8 and 10. After the shooter was revealed to be a so-called "transgender," the media once again feverishly rushed to accommodate and reinforce this delusion.
CNN talking head Jake Tapper noted on his show that the gunman's mother "applied to change her child's name in 2019. It was at one point Robert Paul Westman."
"But since she identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification, was underage, it's now Robin Westman," continued Tapper, faithfully employing the killer's preferred pronouns.
RELATED: Attacks against American Catholics and churches are out of control
While Newsweek initially referred to the shooter using male pronouns, it updated its article on the gunman, referring to him as a "her." The Daily Mail went the distance, using both she and her pronouns in reference to the dead man.
'If you've noticed, they are misgendering and dead-naming the murderer.'
In a section that has since been scrubbed, the Washington Post referred to the shooter as Mary Westman's "daughter" — a term the publication Le Monde also used in reference to Mary Westman's murderous son — and called the gunman a "she." The Post later added that the gunman was "assigned male at birth."
While the Independent dared to call Westman a "he," it similarly referred to the trans-identified shooter as a plurality, using the possessive pronoun "their."
The New Republic and the Guardian both opted to avoid male pronouns although the former noted that Westman "shot themself in the back of the church" and the latter stated that Westman "killed themself."
When several liberal publications correctly referred to the trans-identifying female shooter behind the Covenant School massacre in 2023 as a woman, James Kirchick, a contributing writer to the New York Times, aped out, telling Bill Maher, "If you've noticed, they are misgendering and dead-naming the murderer. Right? They are referring to the murderer by their given name, not their chosen name ... referring to her as a woman, as opposed to what her identity apparently was — was a man."
Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears weighed in, telling Maher and the liberal writer, "Hang on, you know what: This person murdered six people. I don't really care who you say you are. You murdered six people, and three of them were children."
"You don't get a say," continued Earle-Sears, noting that's a forgone conclusion in this case because "she's dead now, so you know."
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Gov. Walz's condemnation of Trump's efforts to make Democrat-run cities safe aged really poorly
A shooter clad in black gunned down school children during a back-to-school Mass at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in the pews. Another two victims are in critical condition. Of the 17 injured in the attack, 14 were children.
According to police, the shooter apparently barricaded the doors from the outside and began opening fire into the church through the windows.
The coward responsible, who has not yet been identified, used a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol, and ultimately committed suicide at the back of the church.
The day before the church attack, seven individuals were shot, one mortally, behind Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. One witness described the scene to KSTP-TV as a "blood shower."
While these evil acts are particularly egregious, Minneapolis has seen a great deal of violence and bloodletting in recent months and years. While murders are down this year, assault offenses exceed those committed last year and are significantly higher than the previous three-year average. According to Neighborhood Scout, the city ranks 1 on the crime index, where 100 is safest.
'This cruelty must end.'
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's recent criticism of the Trump administration's efforts to restore law and order to Democrat-run cities has aged especially poorly in light of the recent mass shootings and the city's general problems with violent crime.
In addition to defending DEI and championing Minnesota as a sanctuary for trans-identifying individuals in his Monday speech at the Democratic National Committee summer 2025 meeting in Minneapolis, Walz characterized the Trump administration's efforts to curb crime with the help of the National Guard as cruel, "fascist," unconstitutional, and as a "flaunting [sic] of the rule of law."
The Democratic governor insinuated further that Trump was following the "law of the jungle" contra the "law of human decency," and stated, "This cruelty must end."
— (@)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) told the Guardian that if the president tried to repeat in Minneapolis the successful crime-reduction efforts undertaken in Washington, D.C., "It would be just a blatantly illegal usurpation of local control."
"Of course, we would take immediate action to get injunctive relief," Frey added.
While Democrats are resistive to the intervention by the Trump administration, the president's crime-fighting initiative in Washington, D.C., has so far been a resounding success. Following the federal takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department and the deployment of the National Guard, there were no murders for at least 10 days.
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Gunman reportedly enters church, makes horrific declaration before killing woman and her daughter, wounding pastor
On Sunday afternoon, Beverly Gumm and her daughter, Star Rutherford, were preparing lunch in the fellowship hall of Richmond Road Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, when a man opened a door and asked for one of Rutherford’s sisters, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
They replied to the man that she wasn’t there, the paper said.
Patches Rutherford told the Herald-Leader that Gumm’s 'love language' was feeding people — 'homeless people, drug addicts, strangers.'
“Well, someone is gonna have to die, then," the man replied, Rutherford told the paper, adding that he then opened fire.
The Herald-Leader said Gumm, 72, was able to avoid the first shot, but the second shot hit her in the chest, killing her.
The paper said the man then went outside and fatally shot another of Rutherford’s sisters, Christina Combs, and wounded two men: Jerry Gumm — the church's longtime pastor and the husband of Beverly Gumm — and Combs’ husband, Randy Combs.
Rutherford and two of her other sisters — Dasey “Patches” Rutherford and Rachel Barnes — described the atrocity in a Sunday-night interview, the paper said.
The three sisters identified the shooter as Guy House and said he was looking for the mother of his three children — another of their sisters, the Herald-Leader noted.
Lexington police said officers fatally shot the gunman, and the Fayette County Coroner’s Office identified House, 47, as the shooting suspect.
House had a history of run-ins with law enforcement, a Monday WDKY-TV video report said. In 2022 he was wanted for wanton endangerment of a police officer as well as vehicle theft, fleeing and evading, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, and receiving stolen property, WDKY said.
RELATED: 15-year-old girl named as shooter who killed at least 2 at Christian school, police say
Just prior to the church shooting, House shot and wounded a Kentucky state trooper who pulled him over near the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, the Herald-Leader reported, adding that House fled, carjacked a vehicle, and drove to the church, where he shot the victims. Police said the trooper was in stable condition and was receiving medical treatment.
Star Rutherford told the Herald-Leader that she held her mother as she died. Beverly Gumm had eight children, her daughter told the paper, and was a “faithful member of the church who loved God.”
Patches Rutherford told the Herald-Leader that Gumm’s “love language” was feeding people — “homeless people, drug addicts, strangers."
Rachel Barnes added to the paper that her mother and sister were doing what they loved — “serving the Lord" — when their lives were taken from them.
Barnes also told the Herald-Leader that Christina Combs was a mother of five — including a 6-month-old baby — and anticipated graduating from nursing school in December.
“They were both fantastic moms,” Barnes added to the paper.
The sisters told the Herald-Leader that they aren't aware of a possible motive for House's actions.
Jerry Gumm and Randy Combs were in critical but stable condition Sunday night at the University of Kentucky hospital, Barnes noted to the paper.
"It's awful what happened," an employee from a local business near the church told Blaze News on Monday.
Blaze News late last month reported about a shooting at a church in suburban Detroit in which a church member ran over the accused shooter and a church security team member fatally shot the accused shooter. In a follow-up story, the security team member recalled the moment when "evil came to our door" and added, "I realize what happened yesterday, what my actions did. ... I will reconcile with the Lord on a time for that. ... I was protecting his people."
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Mother of Michigan church shooting suspect is member of church; suspect attended a few services in last year: Police
Police in Michigan said the mother of the suspect accused of opening fire at a suburban Detroit church on Sunday is a member of the church — and that the suspect attended services there in the last year.
Wayne Police in a news release said they received multiple 911 calls just after 11 a.m. Wayne is about a half hour southwest of Detroit.
'We are grateful for the quick actions of the church’s staff members.'
A witness told police he saw the suspect driving erratically in a silver SUV in the parking lot of CrossPointe Community Church after which the suspect parked the vehicle. The suspect — a white male wearing camouflage clothing and a tactical vest — was retrieving guns from his car and headed to the church, police said.
Police said minutes later, more calls poured in — this time saying the suspect was firing shots and that a church member driving a pickup truck hit the suspect.
Senior Pastor Bobby Kelly Jr. told the Detroit News that the church member actually drove over the suspect: "He was run over by one of our members who saw this happening when he was coming into church."
What's more, the gunman shot at the vehicle repeatedly, Wayne Police Chief Ryan Strong told the Detroit Free Press at a news conference Sunday evening.
Upon hearing the gunfire, police said the church security team locked the church's front doors and exchanged gunfire with the suspect outside. Police said a member of the security team shot and killed the suspect. First responders pronounced the suspect dead after performing life-saving measures, police said.
One member of the church's security team was shot in the leg and taken to a hospital, where he was last listed in stable condition after a successful surgery, police said. The wounded security team member did not fire a weapon at the gunman, Deputy Chief Finley Carter III told Blaze News, adding that he was one of three security team members involved.
Kelly told the Detroit News the attacker didn't enter the church building, but several shots were fired into the church. Carter added to Blaze News that police haven't yet determined how many rounds the gunman fired. No other church members were hurt, the Detroit News added.
Police said an investigation has identified the shooting suspect as 31-year-old Brian Anthony Browning of Romulus, Michigan. Romulus is about 12 minutes south of Wayne.
Police said the suspect was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and had more than a dozen fully loaded magazines as well as a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The suspect's mother is a member of the church, police said, adding that he attended services there two or three times over the course of the last year.
Police said a search warrant was executed at the suspect's residence where additional rifles, several more semi-automatic handguns, and an additional large amount of ammunition were seized and confiscated.
Police said the suspect had no previous contacts with Wayne police or criminal history — but police added that the investigation suggests he may have been suffering a mental health crisis. Deputy Chief Carter added to Blaze News that the image of Browning shown above is not a mug shot but rather his driver's license photo.
Police also said in its news release that there is no evidence that the act of violence was connected with the Middle East conflict.
In addition, police confirmed that a livestream video of church members reacting to gunfire indeed shows Sunday's incident:
A Wayne resident on Monday recalled to Blaze News the sounds of the shooting, noting that what actually was happening wasn't immediately apparent to him.
"I heard everything," the man recounted to Blaze News on the condition of anonymity, adding that "I was in my backyard and heard loud noises coming from the church."
The resident — who was just a few hundred feet from the church — added to Blaze News he "thought it was construction" and "then I go to my job and see police cars." He added that he later learned the details of the shooting and that it was "really sad."
"I know people who go to the church," the man told Blaze News, adding that they're dealing with some trauma but are managing it.
Police said about 150 people were at a special Vacation Bible School service when the suspect began shooting, the Detroit News said, adding that Strong said more children than usual were in attendance.
“We are grateful for the quick actions of the church’s staff members, who undoubtedly saved many lives and prevented a large-scale mass shooting,” Strong told the Detroit News. “I would add that the church parishioners and staff members were trained in responding to emergency situations, which also saved lives.”
Strong told the Detroit News the suspect's motivation is not yet clear.
Church members launched a security team about 10 years ago in the wake of violence committed at other places of worship around the country, Kelly added to the Detroit News while noting that CrossPointe hadn't received threats of violence.
Kelly added to the Detroit News that children in attendance Sunday were "doing good" and that members were being mutually supportive: "We will be convening our leadership to put a formal plan in place for the aftermath." It isn't clear when the church will resume holding services.
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Man's 'kill manifesto' outlined plot to shoot males at Virginia church over failed prayer and lack of romance, police say
Virginia police say that a man who was arrested at a church with a gun and a knife was plotting a violent attack after being upset that prayer didn't work and he couldn't find a romantic relationship.
35-year-old Rui Jiang of Falls Church was arrested in September at the Park Valley Church in Haymarket after police received a tip about his alleged plot against the church.
The tip was made by a woman who had met Jiang from a dating app and went out on a date with him in 2023 but stopped seeing him. She became alarmed after seeing his posts on social media that appeared to express hostility toward the church and Christianity. One allegedly read, "Blood will be on your hands."
Police questioned her, and when they went to the church, they found that their security had already spotted him and was escorting him from the building. They said that he was tapping on glass and doing other things that made it look like he was "casing" the church.
Police disarmed him of the handgun and ammunition and arrested him at that time.
On Tuesday, local law enforcement said they were dropping charges against Jiang in order that federal charges could be pursued instead.
A 33-page affidavit outlined the case against Jiang, who has denied planning to attack the church. He told police that he had a concealed carry permit and was often armed.
Police said Jiang had been a member of the church but that he had grown disgruntled after participating in a tithing challenge where he donated $450 to the church. He emailed the church demanding a refund two days before his arrest and received it.
When police searched his home, they found numerous copies of a one-page note where he claimed to have been a government assassin and apologized to "the families of those men about to be slain."
He detailed further his anger against the church in the letter.
"Despite my continued sacrifices in the name of duty, my quiet donations to churches, God's community," he allegedly wrote, "praying on my knees every morning at 5am for an hour, thanking God in Jesus' name, despite my faith even in my worst of days, nothing has changed, my mental health continues to deteriorate. I am not allowed to be in love. To experience love. To experience a romantic relationship."
The letter went on to say that he was targeting men in romantic relationships.
"I want them to know what it's like to be me — to labor through yearning for that romantic love and never obtaining it," he allegedly wrote.
Police called it a "kill manifesto."
Here's more about the allegations:
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Dramatic footage shows heroic officers thwart massacre at Lakewood Church while one cop prays over a wounded child
A deranged anti-Semite from El Salvador dragged her son into Joel Osteen's Houston-area megachurch on Feb. 11 and began shooting wildly. Genesse Moreno's attempted massacre was swiftly thwarted by a 28-year-old off-duty Houston Police Department officer and a 38-year-old Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officer.
The Houston Police Department released footage of the incident Monday, showing Genesse Moreno's incursion into Lakewood Church and her confrontation with the heroes therein.
Surveillance footage outside the church shows Genesse Moreno — who sometimes called herself Jeffrey Escalante — pull her 7-year-old son Samuel out of a white SUV, then march over to an entrance just ahead of the church's 2 p.m. Spanish-language service, dressed in a trench coat and carrying a backpack.
Another view shows multiple people peaceably mingling in a hallway on the west side of the church scatter in response to the crackle of gunfire. While churchgoers and others run for cover, HPD Officer Christopher Moreno rushes toward the commotion.
The shooter, who can be seen from another vantage ignoring the pleas and outstretched arms of her son, fires at Officer Moreno, prompting him to respond in kind, then take cover inside a doorway off the hallway. Genesse Moreno continues marching forward with rifle in hand, passing the officer — who has been on the force since January 2023.
According to HPD Assistant Chief Keith Seafous, the shooter attempted to enter the sanctuary, but the entrance doors were fortunately locked.
Footage shows TABC Officer Adrian Herrera, working security for the church at the time, approach the shooter from the rear with his handgun drawn and at least three other individuals in tow.
Genesse Moreno can be observed taking notice of the armed presence behind her and opening fire, nearly striking Herrera.
After Herrera answered back with his duty weapon, Moreno began to rifle through her backpack on the ground. The Houston Chronicle indicated that at the time, she had sprayed substances on the floor, which Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña later determined were not hazardous.
Officer Moreno's bodycam footage captures the shooter announcing, "There's a bomb in this bag. Stop shooting."
Security pleads with the shooter to drop her weapon, but she refuses, yelling, "The bomb is gonna go off."
The shooter reiterates, saying, "I will blow up the whole f***ing place."
— (@)
While Genesse Moreno appeared to be preparing the next phase of her attack, Herrera continued his advance, ultimately dropping the shooter with a decisive shot. After floundering on the ground for a moment near her supposed explosive device, Moreno stiffened.
In the exchange, 7-year-old Samuel was shot in the head.
HPD Officer Garcia, whose body camera captured some of the chaos surrounding the incident, can be seen running up to the wounded child and praying over his body.
"Father God, please bring him close to you," says Garcia. "Please bring him close to you."
On her way over to the gun battle, Garcia had similarly prayed, "Father God, just be with us. Forgive us our sins."
Uncertain whether the shooter had a bomb, the officers dragged the shooter's child to safety, then cautiously approached.
Walli Carranza, the boy's grandmother, indicated over the weekend that Samuel was recently removed from a ventilator and is now breathing on his own but nevertheless remains in critical condition.
Tom George Thomas, the 57-year-old volunteer at the church who caught a bullet to the hip during the incident, was released from a hospital in stable condition the day after the shooting.
Blaze News previously noted that Genesse Moreno had multiple run-ins with the law prior to shooting up Lakewood Church. She was slapped with charges for drug possession, assault, illegal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, and forgery.
Houston Homicide Commander Christopher Hassig indicated that the gender-bending shooter was also temporarily detained in 2016 over mental health concerns and had a history of mental illness.
According to Genesse Moreno's former mother-in-law, Rabbi Walli Carranza, the shooter was a schizophrenic who had been diagnosed with Munchausen by proxy. Moreno allegedly harmed her child more than once and had been the subject of multiple child protective services investigations.
Genesse Moreno had also at one time lost custody of her child but apparently regained it in 2022.
Police indicated early in their investigation that they had discovered some of the shooter's "anti-Semitic writings." Her neighbors spoke of repeated threats, Nazi salutes, and in one instance, the shooter painting a swastika on a nearby resident's fence.
Carranza told the New York Times that Genesse Moreno was a practicing Muslim who frequently targeted her Jewish in-laws with "very anti-Semitic" rants that "were very profane and ... horrible."
Police have not yet confirmed a motive for the attack.
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‘Free Palestine’ Shooter At Joel Osteen’s Houston Megachurch Foiled By Good Guys With Guns
Without the intervention of off-duty officers, more of Lakewood’s tens of thousands of attendees could have fallen victim to a mass shooting.Alabama churchgoer in his 70s hailed as a hero for bludgeoning, apprehending gunman in deadly church shooting
There was a deadly shooting at an Alabama church on Thursday, but it could have been even more bloody if it was not for the heroics of an elder churchgoer.
A man attended a "Boomers Potluck" dinner gathering at the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in the Birmingham suburb of Vestavia Hills around 6 p.m. on Thursday, according to police. The man – who had attended services at the church in the past – allegedly introduced himself to other churchgoers as "Mr. Smith."
The man sat at a table by himself, according to Rev. Doug Carpenter – who was a pastor at St. Stephen's for 30 years before retiring in 2005. Church members reportedly invited the man to sit at their table and offered him a plate of food, but he declined.
Soon after, the man pulled out a handgun and opened fire.
During the church shooting, the gunman killed 84-year-old Walter Rainey, 75-year-old Sarah Yeager, and an unnamed 84-year-old woman, according to a statement issued by the Vestavia Hills Police Department on Friday.
However, the carnage could have been far worse if not for the bravery of one parishioner. An unidentified churchgoer in his 70s at the potluck dinner purportedly incapacitated the church shooter by bludgeoning him and then apprehending the armed man.
"He hit him with a folding chair, wrestling him to the ground, took the gun from him and hit him in the head with his own gun," Carpenter said, according to Fox News.
The churchgoer held the shooter down until law enforcement arrived at the crime scene.
Capt. Shane Ware of the Vestavia Hills Police Department said the brave churchgoer was "extremely critical in saving lives."
"The person that subdued the suspect, in my opinion, was a hero," Ware proclaimed.
District Attorney Danny Carr later identified the suspect as Robert Findlay Smith, CBS News reported. Smith, 70, was arrested and charged with capital murder, according to the Jefferson County District Attorney's office.
Smith's mugshot released by the Jefferson County Jail shows the suspect with a large black eye, as well as injuries to his nose and forehead.
Smith's motivation for the church shooting is unclear at this time.
Carpenter said the shooting "doesn't make sense," and asked, "Why would a guy who’s been around for a while suddenly decide he would go to a supper and kill somebody?"
Carpenter said of Smith, "He was kind of distant and very much a loner."
The Rev. Rebecca Bridges – the associate rector at St. Stephen's – held an online prayer service on the church's Facebook page on Friday morning. Bridges prayed for the victims, the church members, and the shooter.
"We pray that you will work in that person's heart," Bridges said. "And we pray that you will help us to forgive."
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